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This was a super-readable teen paranormal thriller – not necessarily two genres that I completely gravitate towards, but in this case it really worked for me. The London boarding school setting drew me in, and Johnson makes good use of the history of London and its geography, plus all the mythology surrounding the Jack the Ripper killings. This was legitimately quite creepy at times, without going too far and leaving me unable to sleep without a light on – a balance that I, as a total wimp, really appreciated. I was left wanting a bit more development from Rory, the protagonist – but I’m hopeful that will come in future volumes, which I will certainly be reading.

Southern girl, Rory, travels with her parents to England, where she is enrolled in a private school in London. Soon strange things begin to happen and it seems like Jack the Ripper has resurfaced--there's more here than meets the eye. Great characters and plot alike.

Sue MacLeod weaves together present day Canada with Tudor Era England through the characters of two young girls going through difficult times; her pairing of a girl on the brink of physical death and a girl experiencing emotional derangement due to an alcoholic mother is intriguing. She is able to take the past and relate it to the present. There were some parts that were more exciting than others and at times I wanted a little more; however, readers fascinated with Tudor Era England will enjoy MacLeod’s well researched scenery, and young adults trying to deal with life and high school will find a friend in Jane. Overall, a success.

With her parents temporarily teaching American law at an English university, Aurora (Rory) has enrolled at Wexford, a private school in London. Just as she is getting acclimated to the school, her roommates and English customs at the start of the school year, the city is stunned by a murder. The victim was killed in the same location and in the same manner as Jack the Ripper's first victim in 1888. When several more copycat murders are committed over the course of the next month, each occurring on the same day, in a similar location and by a comparable method as those from the tragic events of 1888, London goes into panic mode while also simultaneously welcoming the media spectacle. After discovering that she has seen a strange-looking man who was invisible to everyone else, Rory begins to fear for what role she may play in the mystery. The Name of the Star was both charming and engaging, though I was initially dubious about the subject matter, not being especially enthusiastic about ghosts or the supernatural. I really enjoyed the authentic feel of Rory's first-person narrative from a teenage perspective in the way that the teenagers in Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park rang slightly false. Looking forward to the sequel.

An American teen, Rory, arrives in London to attend boarding school just as the city is beginning to experience a rash of gruesome Jack the Ripper copycat murders. Because the bodies have been found in neighbourhoods close to the school, students worry that the next murder could happen on the campus. Everyone is tense; many students are justifiably terrified.

Rory has the special ability to “see” ghosts and otherworldly beings. On the night of the next murder - which happens on the school campus - Rory glimpses the escaping killer. None of the other students see him. Why? He’s a ghost.

Rory is soon contacted by the members of a clandestine British government ghost-policing squad. Joining forces, they search together for the ghostly killer – a revengeful monster who proves to be absolutely ruthless and diabolical.

In the end, it’s the killer who finds and targets Rory in a terrifying conclusion to the story.

This well-written, thoroughly suspenseful book, with its many twists and turns (and a romance, too), is the first title in Maureen Johnson’s brilliant Shades of London series.

A girl who sees ghosts, and tries to find an infamous copy cat serial killer, Jack the Ripper. The plot, and characters were creative. It is about a young lady who transfers into an English boarding school. After her near death experience, she is able to see ghosts. Trying to fit into English society, she fumbles her way into making friends. I appreciated the fresh twist on the 'Who dunnit' with a supernatural flair. It wasn't over done, but kept me intrigued throughout the entire book.

This fits the bill perfectly for a good-but-not-taxing YA winter's weekend read: an easy to get into (I imagine even for reluctant readers), creepy and occasionally terrifying ghost story set in London, mainly around a boarding school attended by American protagonist Rory. Premise: after having a near-death experience (in Rory's case, embarrassingly choking in the dining hall on one of the first nights at her new school), some people are able to see ghosts--that at first they might not realize are ghosts. Right around the time Rory gains this sight, there happens to be a serial-killing ghost haunting London: corporeal enough to commit gruesome murders, but invisible to security cameras. The police, looking for a non-ghost perp, aren't ever going to catch him. And, having seen her eyes register him in a crowd, he knows that Rory can see him. Fun, spooky, and strong enough that I immediately requested the sequel after finishing.

Summary

Jane Grey, a fifteen year old with an unpredictable, alcoholic mother, never expected that an AP history project would take her over five hundred years into the past. As Jane unloads her bag of library books on her namesake Lady Jane Grey-the nine days queen- she finds a small curious book she doesn’t remember checking out. Upon opening it she is transported to the Tower of London face to face with its prisoner Lady Jane Grey. Now on top of dealing with her mom, her friends, and Tom (the guy she likes) Jane tries to come up with a plan to save Lady Jane who has quickly become one of her closest friends. Will she be able to change the past while keeping her footing in the present?

The name of the Star is about Aurora "Rory" Deveaux, a girl from Louisiana, who chooses to spend a year in London at a boarding school called Wexford. On the day she arrives in London, a woman is murdered in the exact place, time, day, and way as the first Jack the Ripper murder from 1888. Soon more murders occur corresponding with the original dates of the Jack the Ripper "legend" in the same gruesomely way and London with its extensive CCTV cameras does not have a clue to who the culprit is. On the night of one of the murders, Rory sees a man. A man that her roommate does not see. Rory finds herself as the only person to have seen "the murder". Strange things start happening to Rory pulling her in to the midst of London's greatest mystery. It is up to Rory and her new found friends and the mysterious Shades of London to stop the Jack the Ripper copycat from killing the innocent.